A n intriguing letter slipped through the door is set to lead to a lifelong career with the Secret Intelligence Service for Tanya, an operational officer. She received her metaphorical tap on the shoulder five years ago.

The unsolicited letter from the agency, more commonly known as MI6, suggested that she might have the necessary skills to become a spy.These days MI6, which deals with foreign intelligence, makes much of the transparency of its recruitment processes. It now advertises openly and this year, for the first time, is running recruitment events aimed directly at graduates.

For Tanya, a new graduate disillusioned with her job at a multinational, the letter was too tempting to ignore. She had a degree in social sciences from Manchester and “had always been interested in what makes people tick”. The psychology involved in secret intelligence operations, combined with international politics, overseas postings and the sheer variety of work makes the job a continuing source of excitement, she says.

John is MI6’s head of recruitment. Like Tanya, his surname is not revealed, but he will say that the agency is expanding recruitment, looking for operational officers as well as linguists, IT specialists and administrators. The work is challenging, interesting and exciting, he says. “We are looking to provide people with a lifetime career.”

Everybody wants to know what operational officers actually do, John says. The short answer is running a bureau and recruiting foreign agents — “people who are providing secret intelligence that the Government has asked us to find”.

Officers can expect to learn languages. After a course learning the skills, most do a stint in head office before being posted abroad, moving every two to four years. The tougher the placement, the more generous the allowances.

Laura has been with MI6 for eight years, using her science degree to help gather intelligence to prevent the development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. She has spent six months in Iraq. “It was a fascinating insight. I saw at first hand the challenges the Coalition would face in rebuilding it.” She then did full-time language training before being posted to the Middle East to work on counter-terrorism issues.

Unsurprisingly, requirements for joining MI6 are tough. The gruelling recruitment process takes up to nine months and is in itself a measure of commitment. Candidates fill in a highly detailed application form, followed by tests, interviews and a two-day stint at an assessment centre.

John says: “You have to be motivated for this particular service and that is going to be explored extensively during the recruitment process.”

Secrecy is paramount and discretion a built-in requirement. Nobody is allowed to know what officers do, except for their immediate family.

“It’s not for people who love the limelight,” the agency’s recruitment head adds. Yet too many people rule themselves out. “They look at the adverts and the website and think ‘they couldn’t possibly mean me’. But we do mean you.”

www.sis.gov.uk

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